According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Cincinnati Bengals have elected not to grant quarterback Carson Palmer’s request to be traded. Owner Mike Brown was quoted as claiming that Palmer was “central to the team’s plans”. Whether or not this implies a more aerial-focused offense from Cincinnati next season remains to be seen.
Recently, Palmer made a request to team management to trade him, and even went so far as to say he was willing to retire if he was not traded. This past season, Palmer had 26 TD’s, 20 interceptions, 3,970 passing yards, 61.8% accuracy, a QB rating of 82.4, 7 fumbles (3 of which were lost), and was sacked 26 times, tying his number from last year in that category. This also marks the second time in the past three years that a major component of the Bengals’ offense has requested a trade, and has been denied, the other request coming in 2008 by wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.